Strength of character and universal values are essential for the effectiveness of entrepreneurial students’ intention

Abstract

This study aims to present a detailed empirical investigation of the role of entrepreneurship education in building entrepreneurial intention of business students through competencies, character strengths, and virtues. This study focuses on several business students in a higher education environment. The methodology used in this research is associative research with the study of certain dependent, independent, and mediating variables involving business management students from various state universities in East Indonesia. Sampling used a saturated sample of 397 business management students. According to the research model, the author chose a structural equation model (SEM) to analyze the data and support using character strength and virtues with six traits: wisdom and knowledge, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence. The research findings indicate that the six variables shaping character strengths, virtues, and lecturer competencies are effective in developing entrepreneurial intentions among students. Meanwhile, direct entrepreneurship education is ineffective in developing student entrepreneurial intentions. This research provides detailed and robust results regarding entrepreneurial intentions that are more measurable and easily realised by relying on character strengths and virtues that contribute to entrepreneurial intentions within a conducive academic environment. Improving the quality of entrepreneurship education for business management students can utilise the results of this research as a guide. However, to maximise the role of entrepreneurship education in business students’ entrepreneurial intentions, it needs to be mediated by character strengths, virtues, and lecturer competencies. This research demonstrates that entrepreneurship education that relies solely on the transfer of entrepreneurial knowledge and skills to students is ineffective in developing entrepreneurial intentions, which are the foundation for producing graduates who are ready to start businesses.